


Better Than Dreams

by afteriwake



Series: Second Chances [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-15
Updated: 2013-02-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 10:23:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/685868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Irene takes Sherlock back to her home and he finds that reality is better than his dreams, at least when it comes to kissing Irene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Than Dreams

It was late evening when Irene finally let them into her apartment. Sherlock was not surprised that it was spacious and had a magnificent view, though it was not as opulent as her London home had been. She set her handbag on a table near the door and moved inside more. “Welcome to my humble abode,” she said with a slight smile.

“You never did tell me if you kept your old home,” Sherlock said as he got inside and loosened his scarf, letting it hang around his neck.

She shook her head. “Kate sold it not long after I went into hiding. I had money, but I wanted to make sure she was taken care of. She kept the proceeds of the sale and is doing quite well for herself in Paris.”

“I hadn’t expected you to think of anyone other than yourself,” he said after a moment.

“Well, she was a more than capable assistant. She deserved some restitution for the more complicated things I had her do.” She shrugged out of her coat and put it on a coatrack near the door, and Sherlock did the same. “I noticed you don’t have any personal belongings with you.”

“I hadn’t really thought that far ahead when I left John and the Doctor,” he admitted.

“So eager to see me again?” she asked with a slight smile, turning to look at him.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Well, I have open accounts at some of the better stores here in Los Angeles. Go ahead and buy yourself anything you might need.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he said. “I do have money of my own.”

“Think of it as a welcome back present.” She paused. “And while you’re at it, pick up a tuxedo. I need a date for an event in three days and if you don’t mind I’d like you to accompany me.”

He smiled a bit at that. They had not defined what type of relationship they might have when they went back to London, and he had the feeling she would be dictating the terms of whatever it ended up being. “Very well.”

“Thank you. It’s always been strange for the matchmaker to show up alone.” She looked around. “I don’t suppose you have anything to sleep in?”

He shook his head. “I left with just the clothes on my back. But I can sleep in them for the night.”

“If you’ll give me your sizes I can have something purchased and brought here,” she said.

“It’s nearly nine o’clock at night,” he said.

“And when you have money stores that are normally closed will reopen for you,” she said with a wider smile. “It’s one of the perks, Sherlock.”

“If you insist,” he said with a nod. She went to a phone and dialed in a number, relaying what she wanted to the person on the other end, and he dutifully told her all the sizes she needed before she hung up. “I don’t think I could get used to such opulence,” he said after a moment as they drifted towards the sofa in the main sitting area.

“Sometimes it's a burden, but most of the time it makes life easier,” she said, sitting next to him once he sat down. She took off her heels and dropped them on the floor by the sofa before pulling her legs onto the sofa. “I’ll probably be less opulent in London, though. Most of this is for appearances sake. My room is much more comfortable. I found I really wanted comfort when I came here.”

“I can’t imagine you someplace like where I lived,” he said.

“I actually liked your home,” she said with a smile. “I thought it was nice. Will you be going back there?”

He nodded. “When you told me today’s date I realized the Doctor had dropped me off merely a month after I left, instead of the six months I’ve been traveling. Mrs. Hudson knew John and I were taking an extended vacation, and we had paid our rent for three months in advance.”

“You are very lucky to have a home to go back to.”

“I know,” he said. “It will be strange being there without John, however.”

“Perhaps I can spend time with you?” she asked, reaching over to touch his arm.

“I would like that,” he said.

She was quiet for a moment. “Sherlock, if I were to kiss you, what would you do?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t need to think. “I would most likely kiss you back,” he said.

“Then may I kiss you?”

He nodded again. “Yes, you may.”

She moved closer to him, and he turned to face her, moving his body in her direction. She cupped his cheek with her hand, and then leaned in until their lips were pressed together. He had kissed women before, when he was younger, so he knew what he was doing. This was different than the dreams, he realized as he moved a hand to her waist. This was better. He pulled her closer, and then she deepened the kiss. He felt her tongue touch his teeth and he opened his mouth slightly more.

She pulled away after a few moments, her breathing deep and her face slightly flushed. He kept her close to him and watched as she grinned. “It has been a long time since I’ve been kissed like that,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

“It has been a long time for me as well,” he said. “Possibly longer than for you.”

“You are a very good kisser, Sherlock.” She shifted slightly as he moved, with him facing forward and her straddling his lap. “It was better than I’d dreamed of.”

“You dreamed of kissing me?” he murmured.

She nodded. “And more. I have a very vivid imagination. What about you?”

“I’ve had dreams about you, dreams that were more erotic in nature,” he said.

“Maybe one day we’ll be able to find out if reality can match up to the dreams,” she said, leaning in again. “But not tonight.”

“Even I know that would be too fast,” he said.

“But I would like to keep kissing you, if that’s all right.”

He didn’t say anything, but this time he kissed her. It was not as soft and tentative as her kiss had been, and soon it became a possessive kiss on both sides. They continued to kiss until her phone rang an hour later, and she slowly disentangled herself from him to answer it. After a moment he gathered his clothing was being delivered, and five minutes later there was a knock at the door. She composed herself and answered it, then came to him with two garment bags. “Thank you,” he said with a nod as he took the bags from her.

“Let me show you to your room,” she said. She led him down the hallway to the first room on the left. She flipped on the light and he saw a spacious room with a large bed and huge windows. “Tomorrow we can talk more and I can start getting ready to go back to London.”

“Yes,” he said with a nod.

She moved over to him and kissed him again, a softer kiss than the ones they had just shared. “Good night, Sherlock.”

“Good night, Irene,” he said. She left him then, closing the door behind her. He opened one garment bag and saw pyjamas and a dressing gown similar to what he had owned before, then opened the other bag and saw trousers and a shirt. He put the second bag in the closet and changed into the sleepwear, then went to the bed and climbed in. He knew that tonight at least any dreams he might have about Irene were going to be more based in fact than the ones he’d had before.


End file.
